Wall structure for modular or mobile homes

ABSTRACT

A wall or the like for modular or mobile homes, which is usually prefabricated and comprises a frame, such for example as sole and upper plates connected by spaced studs. Secured to the frame are plasterboard sheets which abut each other with plain and unfinished joints. Covering the entire area of the plasterboard sheets is a wall liner which is adhered to and pressed against the same. The wall liner is of laminated structure having a sandwich including an intermediate ply of relatively heavy kraft paper or chip board, and outer plies of somewhat lighter weight kraft paper. The plies are adhered by a thermoplastic resin or the like, creating a water and vapor barrier. The wall liner is of sufficient resilience and flexibility to be wound upon a core to be unwound when required.

United States Patent Flotow et a1.

[ WALL STRUCTURE FOR MODULAR OR MOBILE HOMES [75] Inventors: David W. Flotow; John C. Young,

both of Adrian, Mich.

[73] Assignee: Simplex Industries, lnc., Adrian,

Mich.

[22] Filed: Mar. 26, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 345,129

[52] US. Cl 52/268, 52/269, 52/483, 161/270 [51] 1nt.Cl E04b 2/04, B32b 21/06 [58] Field of Search 161/270, 268, 250, 238;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,556,575 10/1925 Armstrong 161/270 X 1,838,237 12/1931 Stranahan 161/268 X 1,990,701 2/1935 Knight 161/270 X 2,126,956 8/1938 Gilbert.... 52/515 X 2,147,817 2/1939 Johnson 156/71 2,347,865 5/1944 Yates et al..... 156/71 2,427,273 9/1947 Goble 52/515 2,587,985 3/1952 Elmendorf 156/71 X 2,654,687 10/1953 Fridolph 161/268 X 2,883,711 4/1959 Kump 52/270 X 2,899,771 8/1959 Burris 52/517 X 2,952,938 9/1960 Abrams 52/517 3,149,693 9/1964 Keller et a1. 156/71 X 3,282,008 11/1966 Sheahan 52/516 3,305,986 2/1967 Mathews 52/170 3,312,585 4/1967 Hamme 52/516 X 3,511,335 5/1970 Uddenborg 156/71 3,576,091 4/1971 Shull et al. 52/309 3,642,562 2/1972 Kawaguchi 161/250 X 3,665,662 5/1972 Timbrook et al. 52/270 X 3,769,116 10/1973 Champeau 16l/270 X Primary ExaminerErnest R. Purser Assistant Examiner-Leslie A. Braun Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Malcolrn W, Fraser [57] ABSTRACT A wall or the like for modular or mobile homes, which is usually prefabricated and comprises a frame, such for example as sole and upper plates connected by spaced studs. Secured to the frame are plasterboard sheets which abut each other with plain and unfinished joints. Covering the entire area of the plasterboard sheets is a wall liner which is adhered to and pressed against the same. The wall liner is of laminated structure having a sandwich including an intermediate ply of relatively heavy kraft paper or chip board, and outer plies of somewhat lighter weight kraft paper. The plies are adhered by a thermoplastic resin or the like, creating a water and vapor barrier. The wall liner is of sufficient resilience and flexibility to be wound upon a core to be unwound when re quired.

1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN 1 M975 FIG.

WALL STRUCTURE FOR MODULAR R MOBILE HOMES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the building of modular or mobile homes, not infrequently walls, such as ceilings and side walls, are prefabricated as units and are then assembled into the completed structure. This involves fastening plasterboard or the like to the studs of the wall frame, covering the joints between these boards with plaster, tape or the like, and then painting the surface. In the racking, weaving, jars and shocks subjected to such wall structures when assembled or when moved from place to place prior to and after assembly, some plaster at the joints often cracks or chips, requiring the wall to be touched up to place it in good condition. In the case of tape, bulging or uneveness often occurs, and this also requires work to place the wall in acceptable condition. This difficulty arises particularly around window and door openings where the joints separate due to shear action. These additional operations are costly, timeconsuming, and hence, objectionable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a desideratum to overcome the above difficulties and to provide a cover or liner for the plasterboardcovered wall frame, which can be readily applied and is reliable so that despite rough handling, racking, or shocks, weaving, etc., the wall will be in good condition without requiring touch-up or additional work. It is further desired to provide an outer surface for the wall which is smooth and regular, and to which paint (either water or oil base) will adhere. The surface of this character is achieved by the application of a liner to the plasterboard covered frame, which has adequate dimensional stability for the purpose, and can be applied adhesively as a continuous sheet, thereby providing a smooth uninterrupted paint-receiving area which is entirely free from imperfections, such as cracks or bulges, and which remains in that condition indefinitely. The liner is such that it can be rolled upon a spool or core from which it can be readily and conveniently unrolled into position of use, adhered and then by the application of a roller, uniformly and flatly secured. The liner is of multi-ply kraft paper adhered to opposite sides of corestocck, chosen so that it is resiliently flexible to enable rolling about a reel or spool, embodies a moisture vapor barrier, and is flat, smooth and has a surface to receive water or oil base paint.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front perspective view with parts broken away showing a wall structure for a modular, or mobile home, or the like and embodying the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of a roll of liner material, the plies of which have been separated for clarity.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A wall structure I0 is shown on FIG. 1 and is intended for use for modular or mobile homes, and by wall reference throughout is made to side walls and ceilings. It is such that it can be prefabricated and then assembled into the home structure at another time. As shown, the wall structure comprises a frame having a series of wooden studs 11 which are spaced from each other and are secured at the top to a top plate I2, and at the bottom to a sole plate 13. Secured by nails, or the like, to the front of the frame are sheets of plasterboard which are usually of a size to extend from the top plate to the sole plate 13 and engage several studs. Plasterboard is familiar to those skilled in this art, and consists of sheets made of gypsum between paper or other material and is used for lining walls or ceilings. As shown, the inner edge of each plasterboard sheet 14 covers approximately one-half of the adjacent stud II to which it is nailed. It is to be understood that the wall structure above described is old and well known in the art, and it is intended to provide the inside wall surface to be painted.

Heretofore, difficulties take place after such surface has been painted and is in its completed condition because the joints between adjacent plasterboards have been filled in by plaster of paris or covered by tape before painting in order to afford a smooth, uninterrupted surface. Due to shocks, jars, and weaving imparted to the wall structure, either before or after being installed in a modular or mobile home, the plaster in the joints cracks or chips, or in the case of tape, bulging takes place, thereby rendering an unsightly appearance and requiring touching up both by plaster and the application of additional paint.

In accordance with this invention, a liner 15 is applied to the outer face of the plasterboard sheets 14, providing a continuous coverage both from top to bottom and from end to end of the wall. The joints (between the plasterboard sheets) which heretofore have been covered with plaster or tape, are plain and require no treatment, because they are entirely covered on the inner side by the liner which provides a continuous, smooth surface over the entire wall, including the meeting edges of the plasterboard sheets 14.

The liner 15 is of a multi-ply structure, hereinafter described, which is in a roll 15a and then unrolled upon the plasterboard sheets to which it is adhered, preferably by a water base mastic. A suitable mastic for this purpose is known as Adhesive No. NL-609, produced by Maco Adhesive Group, Division of SCM Corporation. After the wall liner 15 is applied, it is rolled in place by a heavy roller to insure uniform adhesion between the liner and the plasterboard, and to present a smooth, uninterrupted surface for the reception of paint.

The wall liner 15 consists of a plurality of laminae, and, in this instance, is of three plies. Outer plies l6 and 17 are of the order of 50 pounds, hard sized, machine finished kraft paper, and these plies are adhered to an intermediate ply 18 consisting of core stock in the form of kraft board of a weight of the order of pounds. The plies are secured together by a continuous waterproof film of flexible thermoplastic resin, in particular polyethylene resin, as indicated at 19 and 20, such adhesive bonds constituting both moisture and vapor barriers for the liner. In place of polyethylene resin, adhesives in the form of asphalt, polypropylene resin, or other vapor barrier materials may be used. The intermediate ply 18 may consist of chip board, if desired, chip board being of a structure well known in the trade so that detail description thereof is not considered necessary. The multi-ply liner l5 possesses adequate flexibility and resilience so that it can be rolled and unrolled in flat condition. At least one surface of the wall liner employed as the outside surface, must be such that it can properly take a coating of water base or oil base paint. The liner is dimensionally stable so as to make possible the application of paint as well as a water base mastic without significant warping or distortion. Under some conditions, it is desirable to use bleached paper or the like for the outer ply of the liner in order to reduce the volume of paint required to cover it.

What we claim is: 1. In a wall structure for modular or mobile homes comprising:

A. a framework B. plasterboard sheets fastened to the framework with the adjacent edges of adjacent sheets substantially in abutment to form plain unfinished joints, and C. a liner adhered by adhesive to the outer face of the plasterboard sheets for providing ccomplete face coverage of the sheets from end to end and from side to side and including the said plain unfinished joints,

D. the improvement wherein said liner is a laminated sheet of five layers, the middle layer of the five layers being a core stock of kraft board of a weight of the order of pounds, the two outermost layers being of hard sized, machine finished paper of the order of 50 pounds, and the two remaining layers comprising thermoplastic bonding layers respectively situated between the middle layer and each of the outermost layers, each bonding layer coniprising a continuous waterproof film of flexible thermoplastic polyethylene resin, whereby the faces of the plasterboard sheets and the plain unfinished joints are covered to conceal same and to provide a smooth and uninterrupted exterior sur- 

1. In a wall structure for modular or mobile homes comprising: A. a framework B. plasterboard sheets fastened to the framework with the adjacent edges of adjacent sheets substantially in abutment to form plain unfinished joints, and C. a liner adhered by adhesive to the outer face of the plasterboard sheets for providing ccomplete face coverage of the sheets from end to end and from side to side and including the said plain unfinished joints, D. the improvement wherein said liner is a laminated sheet of five layers, the middle layer of the five layers being a core stock of kraft board of a weight of the order of 90 pounds, the two outermost layers being of hard sized, machine finished paper of the order of 50 pounds, and the two remaining layers comprising thermoplastic bonding layers respectively situated between the middle layer and each of the outermost layers, each bonding layer comprising a continuous waterproof film of flexible thermoplastic polyethylene resin, whereby the faces of the plasterboard sheets and the plain unfinished joints are covered to conceal same and to provide a smooth and uninterrupted exterior surface. 